Monthly archive

Welcome to The Weekly Report. This week: 1. My musings with two weeks left, followed by those of The Weekly Insiders 2. The chances of a tax bill and a special session (not much of either) 3. The good, the bad and the ugly -- praise for the speaker despite the lack of real tax action, mixed for Roberson (as you might expect) and Atkinson (as you might expect), but praise for Hutchison as rookie of year.    THIS IS THE WAY THE SESSION ENDS   Two weeks and a day, and it’s over – mercifully,...
"REID, SANDOVAL SEEK TO POSITION NEVADA AS NATIONAL CLEAN ENERGY LEADER" You don't see headlines on a news release like that too often. We know that SB 123, the omnibus NV Energy bill that passed a Senate panel right before the release was read into the record, is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's baby. We know Gov. Sandoval's closest adviser, Pete Ernaut, is the driving force behind the bill. But a joint release? To help juice the bill through? Bipartisanship! There is hope for America. And...
Sick of ideologically driven, tendentious research, a group of prominent Nevadans is organizing to form a new think tank expected to be unveiled in a few weeks. I've learned the new organization will be headed by ex-Harrah's chief Phil Satre and will be named after former Gov. Kenny Guinn, known for his moderate bipartisanship. The Guinn Center for Public Policy already has a board -- listed below and heavy on former educators -- and an executive director -- Nancy Brune, a Nevadan with an...
And here's a summary via the company (actual changes attached) NVision reduces CO2, SO2 and other emissions and ensures that NVE will continue to have the resources to provide reliable service.  The legislation requires the Company: ü  to retire 800 MW of Company-owned coal-fired generating plants; ü  to acquire or construct 550 MW of capacity to replace the retired coal-fired generating plants; ü  to acquire or construct 50 MW of renewable facilities; ü  to issue requests for 300 MW of...
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun group is stepping up its efforts in Nevada to get state Sen. Justin Jones background checks bill passed. The group dropped mailers in districts of five Republican senators today -- attached below -- and has a field program going in GOP state Sen. Michael Roberson's district. I bet we hear about this on the floor from the targeted lawmakers.  
Sen. Dean Heller plans to oppose a judicial nominee pushed by his colleague, Harry Reid, and whose law firm gave $150,000 to a PAC linked to the majority leader. Heller will vote against Jennifer Dorsey, using the this story by the Review-Journal's Steve Tetreault as the reason. here's the statement I obtained from Heller: “I raised my concerns with Jennifer Dorsey before she came before the Judiciary Committee. I hoped that allowing the Judiciary Committee to proceed would clarify these issues...
UPDATED, 5/16: Development consultant Mike Ford, who worked with Chris Milam on the arena land deal, had this to say about the lawsuit against the feds: Mr. Milam, in my opinion, should win his suit against BLM on the law and the facts. The BLM sabotaged the sale upon unproved and highly disputed claims which the City of Henderson dropped as part of its settlement. In short, the sale fully complies with all applicable federal laws, rules, and regulations and the BLM took this action with no...
I've seen some odd news releases in my time, but never have I seen one like the one Sens. Kelvin Atkinson and Mark Hutchison put out this afternoon attacking the Public Utilities Commission. No, not because the headline on the release was: "Senator's Atkinson and Hutchinson" (find the two errors). But because the PUC had the temerity to take a stand against a bill that de-emphasizes regulation, Atkinson had a conniption, as the Sun's Cy Ryan reported and is evident in the release I have posted...
You have to love the first of the five reasons a group of activists listed today to explain why Sen. Dean Heller should support immigration reform: "The number of Latino and Asian voters is growing rapidly in Nevada." I see they get right to the policy, eh? Ah, subtlety. The list of five reasons was released after a conference call cooordinated by DC folks who want immigration reform passed -- a call populated by locals who probably have never and will never support Heller, so I am sure he will...
ANOTHER UPDATE, 5/14: The city of Henderson has provided correspondence from City Attorney Josh Reid, attached here, that indicates it would not object to Milam (or his old company, Silver State Land) getting the land. The key part: As you know, in February the City initiated litigation with SSL and related parties regarding issues relating the Property. As we notified the Solicitor’s Office last month, the City is happy to report that has settled its litigation with SSL and related parties....

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